Let flower power give cemeteries bright look

Wendy West said the initiative would stop the waste of bulbs after just one year and improve the areas.

"I am really concerned about the number of bulbs which are thrown away each year in our cemeteries," she said.

"Families and friends adorn their loved ones' graves with pots of bulbs.

"At the end of the flowering season, these bulbs are thrown away in the disposal bins.

"Why cannot these bulbs be collected by the local council and replanted so they will provide colour and make the area as pleasant as possible?"

She suggested Chalcraft Lane cemetery, which has benefited from essential drainage works, would be an ideal location for a trial scheme.

Her thoughts about the scheme arose from her visits to a friend's grave in the cemetery. She realised how much waste was involved when people simply ditched their bulbs.

Miss West, of Holland Close, said: "A receptacle could be placed next to the disposal bins with a notice asking people to place their pots of bulbs in it for reuse in that area.

"Then, anyone not happy with the scheme could dispose of them by continuing to throw them away."

She suggested the bulbs could be collected by Arun District Council during its regular collection rounds in the cemetery.

They would need to be separated and then replanted, but this could be achieved with the help of the youth offending teams.

The cost to the district council would be minimal and the effect would long-lasting and attractive.

She has spoken to Helen Wilson, in Arun's parks and greenspace department, who wants to hear peoples' views about the idea.

However, she pointed out she was unsure about the scale of the problem and of the extent of the council's involvement in any future bulb recycling scheme.